Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy

Next month marks twenty years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was a tragedy that shocked not just the nation but the entire world and brought about an unprecedented level of grief, as the world united in mourning for the people’s Princess.

Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy

By Matthew Gormley @MatthewPGormley

Next month marks twenty years since the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. It was a tragedy that shocked not just the nation but the entire world and brought about an unprecedented level of grief, as the world united in mourning for the people’s Princess.

Of course, nobody could possibly have been more devastated than her two beloved sons, William and Harry. In this, the first of many documentaries set to air this summer, the two Princes speak openly about their late mother in a stunningly beautiful and candid tribute. As they sifted through a box of old family photographs, their eyes evidently lit up. As a trio, Diana, William and Harry were never happier than when they were together.

Over the last two decades, we’ve seen innumerable programmes dedicated to the life and legacy of the Princess. The fascinating yet tragic story of this enthralling figure has been told and retold so many times. But Monday’s tribute was different. There was no sensationalism and no scandal. It was entirely personal. It wasn’t about the Royal Family; it was about William and Harry remembering their late mother for the kind, caring and incredibly compassionate lady with whom the whole world fell in love.

Prince Harry has never shied away from discussing his feelings. Recently, he bravely admitted that he sought counselling following his mother’s death. He broke down the facade of the good old English ‘stiff upper lip’ and revealed that, beneath his incredibly professional exterior, he’s a human being, just like the rest of us. In Monday night’s tribute, he confided that, for years, it was too raw for him to even contemplate opening up privately, let alone in front of the beady eyes of the world’s press. He described the ten years that he spent serving in the Armed Forces as ‘white noise’, when he buried his head in the sand and ignored his feelings.

It’s so refreshing to hear the mere mention of ‘feelings’. Rewind a few decades and this would have been frowned upon: The Royal Family didn’t have feelings, they didn’t show emotion. Diana changed this. She did away with the formalities of the handshakes and, instead, lovingly embraced her young sons in front of the world. It was an embrace so strong that both William and Harry say they can still feel it today. On 29 April 2011, the breathtaking site of the second heir to the throne, Prince William, marrying his childhood sweetheart Catherine Middleton, was tinged with sadness, as we watched knowing how proud Diana would have been of her first born. Yet, in this account, William was adamant she was very much there in spirit and soul.

Focusing heavily on the humanitarian work that Princess Diana carried out across the world, we were reminded that she used her position to really make a difference to those whose lives were far less privileged. Just three weeks before her death, she walked through a minefield in Angola as part of her campaign to rid the world of landmines. For the last two decades, Prince Harry has continued to fight for this, one of the many causes that was so close to her heart. It’s just one example of how William and Harry, together, ensure their mother’s legacy remains as alive today as it was throughout her painfully short existence.

Since the documentary aired on Monday, Prince William has completed his final shift as a helicopter pilot in the Royal Air Force. He’s now stepped down from his military duties to become a full-time Royal. Previously, he’s been heavily criticised for being exceedingly private, and in this programme he failed to hide his contempt for the media. That said, when we were reminded of the way the world’s press hunted and preyed upon Diana, tracking her every move and often resorting to violence in a desperate bid to secure a snapshot of her every move, it’s little wonder that William feels the way he does. We know that Diana, in turn, used the press to her advantage, but this doesn’t excuse the diabolical way in which she was pursued.

This was the only real sour point covered in this joyous tribute. The rest of it was a deeply personal, moving tribute to a woman who was loved the world over from the family and friends who were closest to her. What became more evident than ever before was that, despite Princes William and Harry being heartrendingly young when she died, they live and breathe the character of their late mother. They are who they are entirely because of Diana.

Princess Diana transformed the Royal Family for the greater good. Prince William and Prince Harry will forever do her proud.

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About

After ten years in Hollywood, Kevin returned to London to work for the Daily Mirror in a number of executive roles, including showbusiness editor and features editor. Keen to get back to writing, he became the Mirror's film and theatre critic. And in 2006 transferred to the Sunday Mirror as TV columnist. The rest is history. His last column appeared on February 21st, 2016. By an extraordinary coincidence he launched this wonderful website on the same day.
A familiar face on telly, Kevin is also a seasoned broadcaster. He is the TV critic for Channel 5's The Wright Stuff, on which his popular Talking Telly slot is aired every Friday. He is a regular contributor to Radio 5's Afternoon Edition Television Club. And he reviews the newspapers on Sky News' breakfast programme Sunrise with Eamonn Holmes.